Latakia

5 Stories

Unusual Heat Wave Sets Off Chaotic Chain Reaction

Wildfires, mass evacuations, and detonating land mines in the Middle East

(Newser) - Wildfires around the Middle East triggered by a heat wave hitting the region have killed two people, forced thousands of people to leave their homes, and detonated land mines along the Lebanon-Israel border, state media and officials said Saturday. The areas hit by the heat wave are Syria, Lebanon, Israel,...

Syria Rebels Make Major Gains
 Syria Rebels Make Major Gains 
Aug 5, 2013 11:29 PM CDT

Syria Rebels Make Major Gains

Villages in Assad heartland captured

(Newser) - After weeks of losing territory to Bashar al-Assad's forces, Syrian rebels have scored two major victories against the regime. In northern Syria, rebels captured a major air base after almost a year of trying, capturing tanks and soldiers despite air raids from government warplanes, reports the New York Times...

Syria Military Operations Have Ended: Assad

But activists say 18 were killed yesterday, shooting continues

(Newser) - Syrian President Bashar Assad told the United Nations chief that military operations in his country have ended, even as activists said today that security forces shot dead 18 people nationwide and intense shooting erupted in the flashpoint city of Latakia. In New York, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke to Assad...

19 Die as Syrian Gunboats Shell City

'We are being targeted from the ground and the sea,' resident says

(Newser) - Syrian gunboats firing heavy machine guns pounded impoverished districts of Latakia on today, killing at least 19 people in a renewed assault on the Mediterranean coastal city, activists said. As the gunships blasted waterfront districts, ground troops backed by tanks and security agents stormed several neighborhoods. The sharp crackle of...

Assad's 'Groundbreaking' Speech Offers Little

Speech enrages protesters, who Assad called 'saboteurs'

(Newser) - Protests broke out across Syria today, after president Bashar al-Assad delivered a speech that blamed “saboteurs” and “foreign conspiracies” for the country’s unrest. The speech had been hailed in advance as one that would potentially be "groundbreaking," but it actually offered little new in terms...

5 Stories